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Boston Red Sox hypothetical fire sale: Five potential trade ideas

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 30: Owner of the Boston Red Sox John Henry is presented with the trophy after the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game Six of the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park on October 30, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 30: Owner of the Boston Red Sox John Henry is presented with the trophy after the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game Six of the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park on October 30, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JUNE 26: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox high fives Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox after a victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on June 26, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JUNE 26: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Boston Red Sox high fives Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox after a victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on June 26, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Xander Bogaerts to Brewers

The Brewers have a team that may win the National League Central. They also have former Red Sox Travis Shaw and can keep him.  What they need is a shortstop who can hit. Tyler Saladino had the position until an ankle injury put him on the sideline, but Saladino is a career .236 hitter with 15 home runs in 902 PA’s.

The delegated starter is 23-year-old Orlando Arcia who is hovering around .200. Arcia is excellent in the defensive portion of his skill set with 10 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a 15.4 UZR/150. Veteran Eric Songard occasional steps in, but his hitting makes Jackie Bradley look like Mike Trout.

What could the Brewers offer?  Start with Arcia to replace Bogaerts and move on from there. The next and key addition would be right-hand prospect Freddy Peralta. Peralta will not impress with his fastball (92.2) and relies on it with limited use of a change and curve. Peralta has had a rather interesting start to his MLB career with some excellent beginning numbers. Peralta is currently ranked ninth on the Brewers prospect list.

"Peralta makes up for being an undersized righty by generating enormous extension to plate, causing his low-90s fastball that touches 94 mph to play up consistently. The pitch is his primary source of whiffs, many of which he induces inside the strike zone, and was at the heart of his Minor League-best .178 batting average against among starters in 2017. – MLB Prospect Watch"

The last piece would be more pitching with another top prospect Corbin Burns in the Brewers farm system menagerie and is ranked second in their portfolio. Neither Burns nor Peralta are ranked among the top 100 MLM prospects. A concern from a Red Sox vantage point.

"Scouts rave about Burnes’ lightning-quick arm, as it produces a 92-95 mph fastball that has natural cutting action out of his hand. He pounds the strike zone with the pitch, using it to attack hitters on both sides of the plate, and maintains velocity deep into starts. – MLB Prospect Watch"

Burns is a 23-year-old righty who – as with most young pitchers – a work in progress.  Just how high is his ceiling? That as with Peralta is debatable, but the Brewers would be getting a player with well-established credentials as a hitter and controllable through 2020.

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